Tim Downie

Timothy Richard Downie (born 14 July 1977) is an English actor and writer.

He is known for the television series Toast of London, Outlander and Upstart Crow, and the films Paddington and The King's Speech.

Downie was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

Before starting his professional career, he trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Downie's first television appearance was in 1994 in an episode of ITV's police drama The Bill, followed by a guest spot on the series two premiere of ITV's comedy Conjugal Rites.

In 1996 he joined the cast of CBBC's Out of Tune, a children's sitcom which focused on the lives of the member of a church choir, alongside James Corden and Jane Danson.

He would go on to appear on BBC One's teenage game show To Me... To You... in 1998 before landing the role of Sam Smallwood in a seven episode stint on Channel 4's soap opera Hollyoaks.

Next he would guest star in an episode of BBC One's courtroom drama Judge John Deed (2001) as Constable Hoskins.

In 2002, Downie joined the cast of BBC's series Doctors, portraying Alex North in 112 episodes of the drama.

Downie's first professional film role was in 2002's mystery thriller Dead Man's Dream, from directors Abner Pastoll and Kamma Pastoll.

2004 saw him guest star on Fox Network's action/comedy Keen Eddie, which centered on an NYPD officer stationed in London, and the BBC's crime procedural New Tricks, which followed an Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) of London's Metropolitan Police Service.

Two years later he would star in director Emory Ruegg's short film Swiss Passport, which was created for the Straight 8 Competition at 2004's Soho Rushes Film Festival.

That same year he would appear in the drama Shooting Shona opposite Samantha Béart.

From there he would guest star on CBBC's teenage drama M.I.High in the series two finale titled "Asteroid Attack" (2008) and BBC's sitcom The Legend of Dick and Dom in a series one episode titled "The Tears of Fury".

In 2008, Downie would once again work with director Abner Pastoll on his short film Homicide: Division B, a dramatic comedy about the British police, before starring in the direct-to-video horror film The Gatekeeper.

In 2009, Downie co-starred in BBC Four's Micro Men, a comedic account of the rivalry between 1980's British computer giants Sir Clive Sinclair and Chris Curry, opposite Martin Freeman and Alexander Armstrong.

For the next two years, between 2010 and 2011, Downie would star with fellow actor Sam Heughan in a series of television commercials as part of an ad campaign for Tennents Lager in the UK.

In 2010, Downie appeared as H.G. Wells in the short film A Great Mistake, which screened at Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner and the Shanghai International Film Festival.

That same year he would feature as the Duke of Gloucester in the Academy Award winning film The King's Speech.

The next year he portrayed Danny in Michael Tchoubouroff's dramatic comedy Diagnosis Superstar.

Beginning in 2011, Tim appeared as Yates, opposite David Jason, in the BBC comedy series The Royal Bodyguard, which followed the misadventures of a clumsy officer who was appointed as the Queen's new bodyguard.

That same year he was cast in Sky Atlantic's comedy This is Jinsy, the first series of which was nominated for the British Comedy Awards for Best Sketch Show.

Downie would also appear in the second series three years later.

2012 would see Downie appear in several television productions.

First was the television film The Cricklewood Greats, a spoof documentary of the early British film industry for BBC Four, which saw him star opposite Peter Capaldi.

He would next feature in episode one of ITV's mini-series Titanic, which was released to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of the tragedy.

Downie would finish out the year with appearances in Channel 4's mismatched roommate sitcom Peep Show, ITV's anthology series Little Crackers, which featured one-off comedies or dramas revolving around the theme of famous people's Christmas memories, and the first of a three-year stint as Danny Bear on Channel 4's comedy Toast of London.

He would go on, in 2012, to feature in the musical Les Misérables, opposite Eddie Redmayne and Aaron Tveit.

BBC's comedy Miranda, saw Downie guest star in 2013.

From there he went on to appearances in BBC Two's veterinarian sitcom Heading Out, the two-part series seven premiere of E4's hit Skins, a regular role in BBC One's sitcom Father Figure, and an appearance in BBC Two's BAFTA nominated short children's program Found.

In 2015 Tim made a cameo appearance in Dave TV's mockumentary series Hoff the Record, which was loosely based upon the life of actor David Hasslehoff.

That same year he would appear in an episode of ITV's mini-series Jekyll and Hyde and episode three of E4's science fiction comedy series Tripped.

Downie would begin 2016 with a role in series three of ITV Two's sitcom Plebs, which followed the adventures of three men living in Rome.

He would go on to appeare in the made-for-television film Young Hyacinth, a prequel to BBC One's sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, an episode of Channel 4's online short video vehicle Comedy Blaps entitled Filcher & Crook, several episodes of Comedy Central's Drunk History: UK, and a regular role as Christopher (Kit) Marlowe in Ben Elton's ongoing sitcom Upstart Crow. The next year, Downie featured in an episode of BBC's comedy Count Arthur Strong, opposite comedian and writer Steve Delaney, an episode of E4's comedy of innocence Chewing Gum, and an episode of Comedy Central's sitcom I Live with Models.

2018 saw Downie cast as recurring character, and real-life historical figure, Governor William Tryon in STARZ's television adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's best selling Scottish time travel novel Outlander.

Downie went on to executive produce and star in the six part-comedy The Jewish Enquirer, alongside Lucy Montgomery, in early 2020.

Later that year he appeared in creators Justin Sbresni and Mark Bussell's YouTube series Housebound, which focused on ordinary life in the era of COVID-19 lockdown.

In January 2022 it was announced that Downie had joined the cast of Amazon and the BBC's Good Omens for its second series.

The series was released July 2023, with Downie playing the character of Mr Brown.

In 2021 Downie played Kit Marlowe without parody in Jude Cook's Radio 3 drama The Rival.